Dust
by Urbi et Orbi
Summary: She tasted the warm, metallic blood in her mouth, felt his grip around her neck and his words sting in her ear as he tightened his hold on her, "Remember Kagami; that you are nothing but dust and unto dust you shall return."
1. Memento Mori

Crossing Paths

Monday, September 27, 2010

12:08 PM

**"Remember **_**Man**_** that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." **

The sickness came rushing over her head, crushing her down, pushing and pulling her farther away from her life just like a breaking wave, yes, just like a breaking wave against the warmth and comfort of the shore line. That's what the sickness was like, a breaking wave. The sickness pulled her back into the cold surges and currents of the ocean, crushing her, dragging her and pulling her farther away from the comfort, from the warmth, from the shore line. Nausea crept through her spine, drowning her nerves and muscles like pseudoephedrine; a numbing sensation left her helpless against the wave, drowsiness overtaking her. That's what the sickness was, that nausea that imitated a wave against the shore, cruel and forceful; Kagami was helpless against it. Up ahead, the white-light shining from the water's surface tormented her with its freedom, Kagami struggled to reach the surface; the fear of drowning making her frantic. She couldn't reach it no matter how hard she'd tried to grab for it. The tumbling waves slammed her down with her attempts for escape along with her air. The brunette gasped and lost her air; bubbles of air floating to the surface.

Her harsh, choking gasps broke the silence of the night, sending the female flying up into a sitting position clutching the sheets of her bed with fright as she panted and shook. She had dreamt of that sickness again, fighting against the waves and struggling to break the surface. She didn't know why she had dreamt of that, struggling, fighting, being pulled away from the shore but a deep rooted phobia kicked in and Kagami felt the premonition itch itself into the back of her mind. The paranoia was unbearable, uncontrollable; Kagami inhaled the warm summer air but smelt the imminent rain.

Something was coming.

A soft creak broke from the floor board as Kagami made her way down the hall and towards the entrance, passing the living area and kitchen. Moon light lit certain, exposed areas of the house as she rounded the corner of the hall and took a step down onto the moist sand. From the outside hall the Eastern Ocean could be seen, distance but not too far from the Mirā home; the image of the slow rolling waves sending shivers up her spine. A fresh wind blew across the yard, cooling her fevering cheeks, swirling a small cloud of sand off of the beach, off and in to the ocean. Another wave rolled onto the shore, broke, and then washed back sand with it. Another shiver, another sliver of paranoia.

"Can't sleep?" Kaname stepped off of the hallway and onto the sand to join his sister's side, watching her fight the sleep shutting her eyes. Her small frame was nothing compared to other women in the village - she'd been taller than most of the older women standing 181cm tall- but was slim and muscular; toned may have been a more appropriate term for her. Her shoulders flexed, tightening then relaxing her muscles as she held back another shudder; Kagami's emerald orbs focusing on the shore.

"It's hard to sleep with this weather..."

"You love the rain,"

"It's not the rain, Kaname, it's the ocean…the waves...I can't sleep with those damn waves..."

Kagami was facing her brother now, his matching emerald eyes shining vibrantly in the new morning light against his pale flesh. Kaname was her spinning image: a slight bit taller than her, same eyes, same dark coal locks, same slender yet toned physique, both right feet bearing matching scars that trailed up the ankle to the mid-shin, same mole at the base of their necks; the two were identical despite certain mannerisms. Kaname felt his sister's boring stare, watching intently for a reaction to her statement, a stare that made everyone question her judgment, a tiny bit of her sanity.

For a couple of weeks, a paranoia of the tides teetered back and forth in the girl's mind as she eyed them with panic, with fear. Their mother had questioned her daughter's sanity before a few of the villagers in town asked him about Kagami's strange paranoia; eventually everyone heard about her fear, even Sato felt a bit nerved by Kagami's sudden paranoia that he insisted she 'seek' help to calm her down.

Kagami scoffed, she knew what he was thinking about. "Is it because of the wedding?"

A wave crashed down with a bit more force as it pulled back the sand from shore. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Kagami kept her gaze on the shore line, letting the pattern play out over and over with some annoyance before her gaze shifted back to her brother. "I'd rather drown than be joined to that inconsiderate asshole."

"Sato isn't such a bad guy-"

"He didn't try to push you into a closet at your work on a 'spontaneous visit' and feel you up. Father is_ so_ happy that the Mirā family will be joining the Saitama family that he's willing to overlook Sato's ghastly behavior."

"Oh? I bet Yagura wasn't so pleased to find Sato attempting to take you in a closet at his office,"

"I wish he would have, Yagura-kage could've banished him to some deserted island far_**, far**_ away."

Kaname chuckled, ruffling Kagami's curling locks on top of her head as he leant on her head for support, "May be its not Sato you want to marry but Yagura," and with that he'd turned to head in.

Kagami sent her brother a glare before turning her attention to the trees behind the house, watching the branches sway with the wind, plopping herself onto the sand. Gripping a handful of sand, she let it slip through her fingers, lost in her thoughts, too consumed to notice the waves seize.

The gentle swoosh of the water was never something to look forward too, everyone who lived within the Mist knew that the waves were always calm before the storm.

Kagami let her feet slip down into the river bank, hanging over the wooden dock as she swung them back and forth, swaying her legs in a steady beat as she watched the mangrove branches blow in the breeze. It was a ritual, a pattern; nothing in Kagami's day plans had changed over the past two years. A sigh escaped her pale lips as she lifted a nonchalant hand above her eyes to block the emerging sunlight. Of course Sato hated her ritual, so unchangeable, no room for him. Although she had always gone to the same place for lunch he could never find her. She scoffed. _What a moron_. _He couldn't find the dock she had always gone to for lunch, the _**only**_ dock on the west side of the village?_ A thought crept slowly into her mind, chilling her like ice; maybe Sato didn't bother looking for her because he was off with some whore, but then again like she'd give a damn.

The wedding was in three days and Kaname's words had haunted her in more ways than the waves did. Sato was picture perfect by appearance -because only the lord knew that any man who pushed an unwilling woman into a closet wasn't perfect- but even if she hadn't minded that...

Kagami growled under her breath, pulling her hair before twisting to lie sideways on the dock. Why couldn't she just be upset? She didn't give a shit about Sato, Sato and his stupid testosterone fueled antics or his family's wealth. Kagami didn't care anything about him, if it was up to her and her violence she'd force him to the river sharks that'd be more than willing to tear him to pieces. _Hmmm...a wedding by the river wouldn't be so bad_. An evil smirk graced her lips. That was an idea…

"Need some fresh air?" Yagura walked down on to the dock, a glass of water in hand as he nudged her arm with his foot. The girl looked up, annoyed but shook her head, grabbing the cup and tracing her fingers along the edge of the glass. A soothing ring began to play, low but constant, humming with the wind as Kagami let her fingertips roam about over the glass's edge. "Yeah…I guess,"

"Lovely weather, no?"

"I hate this weather..."

"I thought you loved the rain?"

"Why does everyone always assume that?"

"I'm sorry-"

"The weather is ominous...I love the rain but these waves...I hate them..."

"Well you do _live_ in the Land of Waves and you are working for me, Mizukage of said Land," Yagura chuckled taking back her glass of water before joining his body guard on the dock and dipping his feet in. "Maybe it's the wedding."

"It's **not** a wedding."

"Hm?"

"A wedding is between two people who join together for eternity out of love. I don't love Sato." Yagura noted the sadness in her voice, the way her eyes dimmed as she starred down at her feet, as if she felt guilty or scolded. Yagura sat the glass down on the dock, looking out onto the river that was before the pair. It was slender and quaint, sand covering its banks as it winded past a few entangled mangroves, stretching off into a delta before embracing the bay. There was longing in her eyes, a mix of longing and fear staining her expression as she wrinkled her features at the sight of the waves.

Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull.

Yagura had no reason to inquire about the engagement between Sato Saitama and Kagami Mira. The entire coupling had been conceived by the fathers of each family and only Sato had seemed pleased about it. The entire village gossiped about the pair over the sudden decision to "marry." Rumors accumulated that Kagami was pregnant or some sort of nonsense. Truth was, the two heads of the house were worried that if the engagement went on longer as an engagement usually did then Sato would "disappear" as Kagami liked to point out. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control for the body guard. It didn't help either that her concentration was slipping.

Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull.

Kagami turned to Yagura, starring at his childish features before standing from her spot. "It's not a wedding...it's the day I sign my life away. I'm marrying a man I don't love..."

"Then marry me, Kagami." The female's brows furrowed together in annoyance. Her palm smacked against her boss's forehead playful as she scolded him. He was in his teens, too young for marriage, too young to even have the responsibilities of taking care of the Land of Mist; Yagura was the young Mizukage, too young to even be thinking about war or body count. He should be enjoying life…

Kagami ruffled his hair, unsure of what to do anymore. She was young as well, barely a woman. She had no place to comment. She joined the shinobi life too early for other's to even consider, she was a female amongst a man's world. The life of a killer wasn't for her. She couldn't tell Yagura he wasn't in a position to offer marriage. _Idiot._

"Obviously you haven't been paying any attention to me, the day I get married to a man _or boy_ I don't love and who doesn't love me is the day I sign my life away. You don't love me, and I don't love you. It'll be the same results as marrying Sato."

"I _do_ love you," Kagami glared at the boy with smoldering eyes. "-as a body guard. You're a good employee. And no, if you marry me you'll be more alert to protect me. I mean, not only would I be your employer but I'd be your husband." Yagura laughed, patting Kagami's shoulder before getting up. "Back to work. You know where I'll be."

In the distance lightening split the darkening sky, the rumble and fore coming off in the distance as Kagami stayed in place. Another wave crashed against the shore line with a resounding boom that made the girl shiver.

Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. _Crack_.

It was then, in the silence that only the sound of the crashing waves could break, it began to rain. The interruption of the wave's pattern with the '_crack_' Kagami shot up with her kunai in hand, her other hand gripping knuckles of senbon needles. The rain poured down heavily onto the dock as Yagura and Kagami braced themselves for the cause of the disturbance. Kagami was already protectively guarding the Mizukage with her instincts on high and her stance on edge. Water collected on her lashes, soaking her hair and drenching her clothes, but the extra weight wouldn't slow her down. Kagami knew it wouldn't.

"Yagura,"

"Hm." The blonde was in fighting stance just as well, he'd only wanted one body guard to be with him at all necessary times but only because of his pride. He wasn't the leader of this village because he was lazy or inactive. Yagura took pride in his youthful will and strength to fight. He didn't need many body guards to protect him, what kind of a leader would he be then if he hid behind others in battle. The usage of one guard was his way of showing he'd fight side by side his village and its inhabitants. That was the main reason why Kagami dealt with him. But even despite his lack of fighting history and knowledge of strategies, having more than one body guard would be a smart choice right now.

Kagami twisted fluid like mid-thought and caught the senbon aimed at Yagura's neck with ease; darting her eyes to the target and shot off.

"**Kagami**!"

Her feet - with a mix of deep steps and light jumps- pounded down on the ground as she raced after her prey, closing in on the attacker with a fierce rush of chakra that swam into her muscles giving her a boost. _How long had he been there? Did it matter?_

The blur of black danced between the rain as it sped up through the ticket and towards the delta. The taunting of the waves began to bother her, lapping down onto each other before repeating again. Kagami strained her eyes to keep up with tracking the attacker before shoving her hand down in frustration, forming the practiced hand signs and calling out the Jutsu. Tree roots shot out of the ground and wrapped around the calves of the shinobi, but were shredded with ease as he turned back mildly, provokingly, to gaze at her. The black blur twisted back and ran towards her. Immediately, Kagami braced herself for impact and shoved back into the ground. The tip of his fingers sliced through the flesh on her torso, missing the intended nape of her neck all the while using his other hand to twist her arm. Kagami, kicking her foot up, swiped her leg down onto the male's shoulder, but hear the snap of her wrist and missed her intended target. The pain shot toward her arm, burning like hot water, coursing back and forth through her muscles.

The grip on her wrist loosened as she was winded back to face the shinobi face to face. Wide eyed, Kagami struggled to look away, but she couldn't. She couldn't turn away from the red spinning orb that churned behind the dusk orange mask the male was wearing. Her feet grew weak, trembling from the sudden drain in energy and strength while the air around them grew tense. The female was better trained than this, much stronger than to get captured, the submissive behavior of her body disturbed her; the reason why the abrupt weakness scared her and all the while she stared into his eye she couldn't help but feel exhausted. The tense atmosphere and sound of the rain blurred into one, surrounding them with only emptiness and black. Pitch black. "Let's talk," As he spoke, all other sounds fainted, except for the sound of the waves.

Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull. Crash. Pull.

**Author Note:**

**So I feel really good about this story, I took me quite some time to develop it –and much more time to actually write it add in the time it took to correct some misguied facts I thought I had correct- but I hope you will follow along as it grows. The setting is est. about two years after Itachi's betrayal and set in the Village of the Mist (in case no one noticed) and eventually catch up with the current chapters dealing with Kabuto's return and so on so forth. Please tell me what you think, reviews are lovely.**


	2. Bird Cage

Bird Cage

Thursday, July 29, 2010

She could only hear her pulse, a slow beat dwelling in her ears, encasing her responses with nothing but the sound of her heart beat as she twitched her fingers, her hands, then slowly, began to sit up. A heavy numbness overcame her with a struggle as the kunoichi attempted to move against the pressured atmosphere. Twisting her head she couldn't make out anything other than darkness...darkness. Nothing but darkness and her heart beat. A tremble crept down her spine, the muscles of her back tense with exhaustion. A flash of images pulsed through her thoughts, reminding her of the previous events that happened before she woke up. The chakra that was normally leveled higher was almost gone, barely allowing her to move as it is. Stretching her tired limbs, the girl focused on her surroundings attempting to make up for her lack of professionalism.

It was cool, could it be considered cold? She could feel the rain against her skin, the soft mist trickle of water giving off the cool breeze that surrounded her, but then again the mist was heavy, denser; could it be fog forming? Although it was pitch black the water against her was unmistakable. _Alright, Kagami, you can feel the water right?_ Relaxing her fingers she began restoring her chakra through the water. If she held out a bit longer she could gain enough chakra to fight again. She had to work swift though, unsure of when her opponent would strike. Feeling the water alone in all of this darkness gave her some reassurance, if she could feel the water against her flesh then this was only an illusion. Yes…the darkness that encase her was just an illusion and she needed to open her eyes. _Open your eyes Kagami, this is just an illusion, an illusion-_

The grip against her throat was unexpected, causing the female to lose all concentration on regaining her chakra to focusing on regaining her breathe. Coughing, Kagami struggled to move her elbow in time to attack her attacker, hit him in the face or at least distract him long enough to loosen his grip. She swiped her elbow at him, hitting him in the mask. Once her feet hit the ground she grabbed for her assailant, gripping onto his shoulder and swinging him over her form. He hit the floor with a thud before disappearing._ What!_ Kagami began to twist and turn looking for her opponent before her feet gave way. _He went into the ground?_ Kagami struggled to regain her composure but he was on top of her already. Sitting on top of her, his prey faced down with her arm twisted back behind her, he chuckled softly, cocking his head to the side as he watched her amused.

"I just wanted to talk,"

"That's a load of-" Kagami couldn't help but wince as he gripped her hair, slamming her face into the ground.

"A young lady shouldn't use that sort of language." He twisted her arm harder, receiving a grunt from the girl underneath him as he began laughing.

Rocking her legs back, Kagami managed to twist herself onto her side, knocking the male off of her as she swung her leg down on to his chest, but missed. _How!_

"There's no point in attacking me, none of your attacks are going to work-" Kagami charged at his black form, swinging her fist full on at him. She expected him to block her attack, that was the point. He gripped her fist in his palm as she swung her fist down, and her body up, wrapping her legs around his neck and throwing him over her and down. Her attack should have worked.

The male gripped onto her hair with one hand and twisted her wrist with the other. The grip on her wrist grew familiar as she remember the ache and throb from his earlier hold on her wrist. "Argh!" Kagami's knees trembled as she heard the snap. Tears formed in her eyes but refused to fall, she needed to piece this together; _what the hell was going on!_

"I want you to listen to me and listen to the sound of my voice," Kagami didn't know how to responds, only hissing at his request before looking for a way out of the illusion. She was in pain and losing, her legs were shaking, the weight on her knees was unbearable, _what was happening to her. How did she become so frail, so useless, she couldn't figure out what was going on. Everything was moving too fast, her mind was racing. Focus. Focus!_

"I said **listen** to me." Something snapped and Kagami began to move, her feet trembling as she ran. _Fuck! _She wasn't one to be scared, nor one to run away. But fear was taking over, she shouldn't have to be running away, she should be fighting to the death. A noble shinobi death. But she was moving against her better judgment. She wanted to stay and fight, but nothing hit him, every attack that she used -that would usually knock out her opponent in no time- wasn't touching him, he'd disappear, it wouldn't touch him, it wouldn't touch him! If she resisted him he would only attack her twice as hard, this she expected, but she didn't expect to not get a hit on him. Her nerves were shot, adrenaline kicking in. She needed to figure out her next move, even if it meant running away-

Splash!

The ground slipped her and the kunoichi fell through into the cruel waves without warning. Immediately she was pulled under, her breathe escaping her as she screamed. Quickly reacting to reach the surface, her broken wrist failed her as she began sinking. _Shit! No, no, no! _Kagami panicked to send chakra into her feet and launch off of something, anything. But she couldn't touch anything, couldn't find anything to kick off of. She was sinking without a chance to resurface. Another gasp and her head was feeling light.

_Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu_.

Kagami aimed below herself, shooting herself out of the water and back towards shore. She needed to get as close to the shore as possible. She needed the water to regain her chakra but drowning wasn't the way to do it. Landing with a thud, the girl gasped desperately for air, gasping as she turned on her side, propping herself up.

"You sure are something," Cupping her chin into his palm, the male chuckled. "You put up a sad fight though,"

"Then kill me already,"

"So ready to die? No. I need you to listen to me. I want you to listen to me and the sound of-"

"Why don't you use your eyes, I know that's what you're trying to do," Kagami wasn't afraid, she had caught a glimpse of his eye before becoming a prisoner to his illusion, to this genjutsu of his, obvious of the fact that he need her to look into his eyes for his control to set in. No, she wouldn't look. Not at him. She needed to figure out a way this mess. Fast.

"There's no reason to...use them on you."

"You have no control over me unless I look into your eye, that's how your genjutsu works-"

"I don't need my eyes to control you." His words barked out at her, stinging as she felt her hand move up and stretch out towards him. Her fingers trembled, fighting the urge to move anymore, as she gave her hand to him willingly, under his control. "I don't need my eyes to control." The way he said it again made her tremble, she could feel his power emitting from him, overpowering her.

"What do you want."

"I want you to listen to me and listen to the sound of my voice, now-"

_Suiryuudan no Jutsu._

Kagami braced herself for the impact. She felt him coming. Idiot. She snapped her head towards Yagura who was running towards her.

"Idiot! I ran after the attacker so you wouldn't have too!"

"Look how good that did you," Yagura out-stretched his hand with a grin_. That brat,_ Kagami stood up on her own as she took stance in front of the young Mizukage. "I don't know who this guy is but I need you to stop fooling around Kagami, focus." Flexing her fingers she began to regain her chakra, absorbing it from the water, from the fog, focusing it all back into her core, she needed to focus, she couldn't let herself lose focus.

The air around them grew thick the sand under them began to move, Kagami twisted back grabbing on to the Mizukage, jumping towards a mangrove near by. The roots sticking out of the ground, twisted around her ankles, growing up to calves as their opponent walked forward.

"Yagura! Run!" Yagura wouldn't move as he took a stance before his body guard, arms forward in a taijutsu pose, ready for the next attack. He looked so small compared to the man walking towards him, twirling a kunai in his hand. Kagami's eyes grew as she watched her boss and her opponent close the distance with every second as time began to slow. _No, no, no!_

_Garasumirā!_

Yagura watched as the sand around him formed up and covered him in a dome, encasing the two of them - Yagura and Kagami- in thick frost glass before it shrank and entirely disappeared. "Kagami!" Yagura was furious, the way he yelled at his subordinate, Kagami knew she was in trouble for interfering with his fight, but she knew what the out come would be. She knew Yagura would lose, and she didn't want to see what that would look like. She was close to dying, she couldn't see Yagura lose.

Before the glass could disappear entirely, leaving the beach and the male behind, Kagami caught a glimpse of _him_. His mask moved down to expose a partial view of his facial features, but what stood out most was his eyes. The bright red spindle of his eye spinning as his lips moved into a grin.

_I want you to listen to me and listen to the sound of my voice_


End file.
